Ray is the logical heir apparent and, in the mould of Calvillo, a humble champion.

Calvillo was the most illustrious quarterback in the CFL for years, winning three Grey Cups and three most outstanding player awards while with the Montreal Alouettes.

Now Ray, who also has three Grey Cup rings, has a chance to jump past Calvillo by winning his fourth Cup this season.

All signs point to Ray being ready for his close-up as the league’s new marquee quarterback, with all due respect to Henry Burris in Ottawa, Darian Durant in Saskatchewan and Travis Lulay in B.C.

The one award missing from his résumé is the most outstanding player honour, although he was a finalist last season. Burris and Lulay have won once each.

Ray admits that he sees Calvillo as The Man, the one to follow.

“He’s set the standard for the rest of the guys,” Ray, 34, said after practice last week. “That’s what everyone is chasing, what Anthony has done.”

Calvillo told the Star that he doesn’t need to pass the torch to Ray. “He’s been a star in this league for many years,” Calvillo said.

Ray is a big-game player, but he is not the most flamboyant quarterback the Argos have had. Think back to Doug Flutie, Matt Dunigan and Joe Theismann, to name a few.

Ray will be the first to tell you he’s not going to be advertising breakfast cereal or playing in a band, à la Flutie.

“I don’t seek the spotlight,” he said. “It’s not in me to be like that.”

Argonaut head coach Scott Milanovich said Ray is so humble that it draws players to him. But he is also very driven. “If he misses a couple of balls in practice, it just drives him nuts.”

It’s most important, from Ray’s perspective, to earn the respect of his teammates and the players and coaches around the league.

Calvillo knows this all too well; his road to legendary status did not start well. When he signed as a free agent in Montreal from Hamilton in 1998, his confidence was at a low. Tracy Ham was the one who would pass the torch to him.

Over time, and with great coaches like Don Matthews and Marc Trestman, Calvillo burnished his image and his statistics.

After two seasons, Calvillo started to gain the trust of the locker room and that’s when his confidence grew and he began to flourish.

Inside the locker room, Ray, like Calvillo, has earned the respect of the players and coaches. The public doesn’t see it, but Ray can also lighten the mood in the room with his dry sense of humour.

But quietly, Ray has been producing jaw-dropping numbers. Last season, he set a CFL record with a 77.2 per cent completion mark.

“That’s the strength of my game,” Ray said. “I’m not a guy that can throw 65 yards down the field and make a lot of big plays, or do it with my feet, so I’ve got to get it to my receivers and let them make the plays.”

One personal milestone, achievable this season, would vault Ray into a select group of five pivots. With even an average year, he could eclipse 50,000 career passing yards.

At 47,466 yards, Ray is only 2,534 shy of 50,000. When you consider that Ray’s worst season was his rookie year in Edmonton when he passed for 2,991 yards, the goal is very achievable if he stays healthy.

Ray would need 3,070 to pass Ron Lancaster (50,535) and join four others who have reached the milestone (Calvillo at 79,816, Damon Allen at 72,381, Danny McManus at 53,255 and Burris at 51,526).

Ray’s time is now.

He will be 35 by the time the Grey Cup is played in Vancouver in November. And he is coming off an injury-plagued season in which he suffered leg and shoulder injuries.

Yet quarterbacks often enjoy their most productive years in their 30s. Calvillo was at his best after he turned 30.

Ray wears a brace on his left knee, and the Argos have made it a top priority to make sure no one lays a hand on him this season.

Milanovich, who was offensive co-ordinator in Montreal during the last stages of Calvillo’s career, doesn’t feel he has to argue Ray’s stature. That’s up to the media, he said.

“There’s some really good quarterbacks in the league,” Milanovich said. “I think quite highly of Henry Burris. And Lulay. I also view Ricky as one of the best ever.”

Although Milanovich hasn’t been around the league for all that long, he said: “I can’t imagine there are a lot of guys better than Ricky Ray.”

From the coach’s perspective, Calvillo and Ray are similar in their leadership traits.

“Both are soft-spoken guys. They lead by example. They have a lot of respect in the locker room.”

But as players, they are very different. Calvillo liked to throw a seam ball up the middle, using his arm strength. Ray is more of a touch passer.

“They both can make all the throws. They just do it different ways,” Milanovich said.

Calvillo also said he’s impressed by Ray’s willingness to stay in the pocket and absorb punishment.

“He stands in the pocket and gets hit and it doesn’t faze him,” Calvillo told the Star. “He can make magic happen.”

Ray is also an accurate thrower and a smart decision maker. When Flutie was being overlooked in the NFL because of his size and lack of arm strength, he remarked that the key element in quarterbacking is making the right decisions.

Many will make a good case for Burris as the best QB in the post-Calvillo area. But he is 39 years old and is facing a tough situation by leading an upstart franchise in Ottawa.

Ray, however, graciously gives the nod to Burris as Calvillo’s heir apparent. He knows Burris well from the numerous battles he’s had with him over the years, and concedes that Burris got the upper hand last season when he led the Hamilton Tiger-Cats over the Argos in the East Division final.

“He’s one of the best guys in the league,” Ray said. “His numbers are ahead of me, and I still feel like I’m chasing him a little bit too.”

Ray is expected to see action in the Argos’ second pre-season game on Thursday against the Tiger-Cats at Varsity Stadium. The Argos open the regular season in Winnipeg on June 26.

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